Thursday, July 7, 2016

Freight Ferry Service Sets New Record for Last Quarter

Highest Ever Total Recorded for Three Month Period
Shipping News Feature
UK – BELGIUM – Having just last month recorded record levels of cross channel freight using its services between Dover and Calais, P&O Ferries has just announced a 15.5% rise in similar traffic between Zeebrugge and Tilbury in the second quarter of 2016 hitting 58,195 freight units between Zeebrugge and Tilbury from April to June, the highest quarterly total in the nine year history of the route.

Tilbury has of course the advantage of being on the River Thames having originally been developed to replace the ageing Royal group of docks further upriver into London itself. The port conveniently serves the entire South East of England, having 18 million people living within 75 miles. P&O employs two vessels on the Zeebrugge-Tilbury route, Norsky and Norstream, with the main items carried including wine, mineral water, detergents, consumer goods and motor cars from a number of major European manufacturers. Janette Bell, Chief Commercial Officer at P&O Ferries, said:

"Continental exporters increasingly see our Zeebrugge-Tilbury route as a fast and reliable way of delivering goods as close as possible to the vital consumer markets in London and the South East of England. We are making a major investment in our expanded terminal and rail infrastructure at Zeebrugge, meaning that it is easier, faster and more cost effective than ever for goods to arrive by train from all parts of the continent and be transported to Tilbury on one of our ships. The sailing lasts just eight hours and our four-hour discharge time in Tilbury is industry-leading, meaning that freight customers can have their goods on their way to their destination in the fastest time possible."

Photo: The Norsky under way.